Tokamak Energy April 2019
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Faster Fusion through Innovations M Gryaznevich and Tokamak Energy Ltd. Team FusionCAT Webinar 14 September 2020 © 2020 Tokamak Energy Tokamak 20202020 © Energy Tokamak Fusion Research – Public Tokamaks JET GLOBUS-M Oxford, UK StPetersburg, RF COMPASS KTM Prague, CZ (1) Kurchatov, KZ (3) T15-M Alcator C-Mod Moscow STOR-M Cambridge, MA MAST Saskatoon, SK Oxford, UK ASDEX KSTAR ITER(1)(2) / WEST Garching, DE Daejeon, KR LTX / NSTX Cadarache, FR FTU HL-2 (1) Pegasus Princeton, NJ Frascati, IT JT-60SA DIII-D Madison, WI TCV Chengdu, CN QUEST Naka, JP San Diego, CA ISTTOK Lausanne, CH Kasuga, JP Lisbon, PT SST-1 / ADITY EAST Gandhinagar, IN Hefei, CN Conventional Tokamak • Fusion research is advancing Spherical Tokamak • However, progress towards Fusion Power is constrained Note: Tokamaks are operating unless indicated otherwise. (1) Under construction. (2) The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (“ITER”) megaproject is supported by China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. © 2020© Energy Tokamak (3) No longer in use. 2 Fusion Development – Private Funding Cambridge, MA Langfang, PRC Vancouver, BC Los Angeles, CA Orange County, CA • Common goal of privately and publicly Oxford, UK Oxford, UK funded Fusion research is to develop technologies and Fusion Industry • At TE, we have identified the key technology Conventional Tokamak Spherical Tokamak gaps needed to create a commercial fusion Non-Tokamak Technology reactor and then used Technology Roadmapping as an approach chart our path. © 2020© Energy Tokamak 3 Private Fusion Competitive Landscape - The emergence of the Fusion Industry https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/ © 2020© Energy Tokamak 4 Private Fusion Competitive Landscape - The emergence of the Fusion Industry Mumgaard, CFS © 2020© Energy Tokamak 5 Our approach is based on Innovative Physics and Technology Spherical Tokamaks High Temperature Squashed shape, compact Superconductors Highly efficient, high E: High current at high field from 12% in DIII-D to 40% Lower cryogenic cooling in START/NSTX requirements It is this combination of the spherical tokamak shape with high temperature superconductors that we believe is the key to development of fusion power. 6 © 2020© Energy Tokamak smaller, cheaper, faster Together we can make Fusion Faster! Our principles: • Collaboration in development of Fusion Science and Technologies • Use of multiple compact devices and demonstrators to validate modelling and progress at a faster pace and lower financial risk • Strong focus on industrial ‘deliverability’ and cost of the commercial device • Our approach has common ground with mainstream Tokamak Fusion (e.g. ITER, DEMO, STEP). We rely on the same physics behind the magnetic fusion concept … but we have a faster way to get to a commercially viable device. 7 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Approach to Technology Development Our development principles: • The long term nature of fusion development means that many of today’s established technologies will be out-of-date by the time the fusion technology is deployed. • We have consciously embraced risks around the development of highly probable technological advances. • In a world where technology advances at ever increasing speed, rather than seeking cast iron guarantee that technology is available at the beginning of our journey, we have asked ourselves whether it is likely to be present when we need it along the way. • To use innovations efficiently, we need to reduce the build time and have enough test beds, R&D etc 8 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Our approach is based on Innovative Physics and Technology What is Innovation? • UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) recognises innovation as “the application of knowledge of ideas for the development of products, services or processes – whether in business, public services, or non-profit sectors.” - The project must be disruptive in its intended market - The projected end-result must be above the current state-of-the-art available - The project must result in a product/process/service that is commercially viable • Innovation doesn’t have to be a brand-new invention; in fact, it very rarely is! It can be a novel way to use an existing service, process or product – even in a different industry – or to apply a new technology to improve what’s currently available. https://www.tbat.co.uk/ 9 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Tokamak Energy Technology Roadmap to Faster Fusion 10 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Achievements & Progress to date 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016-19 2020 ST25 1.0 ST25 1.1 ST25 1.2 ST40 1.0 ST40 2.0 Field: Low Field: Low Field: Low Toroidal Field: 2 T Toroidal Field: 3.0 T Poloidal Field: Copper Poloidal Field: HTS Poloidal Field: HTS Poloidal Field: Copper Poloidal Field:Copper LN2 Toroidal Field: Copper Toroidal Field: Copper Toroidal Field: HTS Toroidal Field: Copper Toroidal Field:Copper LN2 Plasma pulse of a few Industrial HTS PF coils, World First Tokamak with all ST40 - highest field Spherical Tokamak Significant upgrades of 20 -3 milliseconds (extended Stable operations HTS magnets first campaign: Ipl > 0.5MA, 2x10 m , PSUs, new PF coils, to > 20s with micro- 29-hour plasma, RF temperatures in keV-range. Ipl > 400 kA divertor, more wave current drive) supported from m/c formation diagnostics, bioshield. • First full-HTS tokamak Plans for Autumn 2020: • 24.4T peak field on coil (22T in the bore) in pure-HTS magnet 1 sec flat-top at 3 T, 2 NBI + DNBI • Papers published showing tokamaks do not have to be huge to achieve Fusion • ST40 - highest TF in STs © 2020© Energy Tokamak • Improvements in performance with TF confirmed 11 INNOVATIONS 12 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Innovations on the Way to Fusion Power Three main innovations: • Spherical Tokamak as a solution to Compact Reactor and Modular approach for Fusion Power Plant • HTS Magnets – solution for high field, so better performance and economics • Magnetic reconnection as formation and heating method. • Plus: Li conditioning, Li divertor, low recycling regime, high field side EBW for start-up, CD and heating, new wall and divertor materials - more welcome! We can adopt innovations: - Innovations are indeed easier to test and use in smaller devices that are also cheaper and quicker to build. 13 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Innovations on the Way to Fusion Power Form recent interview with Bigot: “I see all these smaller projects with very positive attitude”. “it is already a success for ITER to stimulate these <e.g. TE> projects. Design of ITER was set in 2007. We could not change the design every day. We will integrate progress, but some progress can’t be integrated. We are very pleased to work with them <e.g.TE> as often as it is possible. We are not in competition, we are complimentary. I don’t want to illuminate any of them <i.e. STs>. We can enrich each other”. In the US, the National Academy of Science has been asked to develop plans for a US compact fusion pilot plant including drawing up a “List of the principal innovations needed from the private sector to address and meet the goals” Our Innovations in detail 14 © 2020© Energy Tokamak SPHERICAL TOKAMAKS 15 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Innovations: Spherical Tokamaks, why? High safety factor, better 2 4 High beta (β), PFUS ~ E Bt V, so volume (reactor size) can be reduced! stability, better confinement of fast particles RECORD E ON START (achieved through NB Heating) “Apparently the high beta potential of the ST is so 50 1996 great that the physics of this device will not 1997 = 6 E N 1998 determine its size”. 40 Ron Stambaugh, “THE SPHERICAL TOKAMAK PATH TO 30 DIII-D, #80108 E , % = 3.5 FUSION POWER”, FUSION TECHNOLOGY VOL. 33 JAN. 1998 T E N 20 conventional (Troyon limit) tokamak • Improvements in performance with increased field 10 already demonstrated in first experiments on ST40 • Field already increased to 2 T, and will be 3T this year 0 0246810 normalised plasma current, Ip/aBT Ion energy and thermal energy latest WEFIT measured on ST40, START and Globus-M against toroidal field, along with a predicted ion Plasma in START, Culham, 1996 temperature assuming the Artsimovich formula. 16 © 2020© Energy Tokamak H-mode, improved confinement Improvement in confinement at higher Toroidal Field • Observed sharp increase in Ti and Wtherm at Bt ~ 1T may be connected with the predicted in GT2 simulations reduction in transport at higher toroidal field in an ST: - At low magnetic field the mixing length diffusivity is dominated by electromagnetic microtearing modes; these are stabilised at higher Bt, diffusivity then being dominated by electrostatic twisting modes. - no beta or shape dependence at high field - Threshold toroidal field is quite low, close to one observed in ST40, ~ 1 - 1.5 T 17 © 2020© Energy Tokamak TE Path to Fusion, why High field ST? Fusion power Efficiency Field strengh Volume • Increase in beta allows significant reduction in plasma volume • Engineering of high field in ST is a real challenge! Physics is good. 18 © 2020© Energy Tokamak HTS FOR TOKAMAK MAGNETS 19 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Why HTS ? Arguments: • Only solution for >20T on conductor • Reduction in cryo power – needed for compact reactors • Can tolerate some heating (while LTS will quench!) • Good mechanical properties • Good performance under neutrons • Supply chain improving all the time 20 © 2020© Energy Tokamak Why HTS? JET, ITER, European DEMO: 21 © 2020© Energy Tokamak HTS development at TE Ltd Progress: • Choice of tape => done - 6 tapes checked, all good, production of needed quantity and good quality is main challenge • Choice of cable => done - cables up to 100 kA tested at NIFS, we can work at lower current - our own design, patented - joints, feeds => all has solutions 10 T at • Magnets – research on-going 0.25m - 20+ coils tested, > 20T @20K - Quench studies and quench protection - TF + PF prototype is under construction. It will test key technologies for future pilot plants as far as possible under relevant magnet operating conditions.